Skip to main content

MTN approves GHc 737.4m as dividend to shareholders

 

MTN Ghana has approved an amount of GHc737.4 million as dividend to its shareholders for the 2019 financial year.

The dividend, which was approved at the just ended maiden virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company in Accra, represents 73.1% of profit after tax and a 20.0% year-on-year (YoY) increase in dividend per share.

Announcing the dividend payment, the Board Chairman, Ishmael Yamson noted that the Board declared an interim dividend of 2 pesewas per share after reviewing the mid-year performance of the company and after reviewing the full year performance of the company in 2019, the Board further recommended a final dividend of 4 pesewas on ordinary shares bringing the total dividend for the year 2019 to 6 pesewas per share.

The number of ordinary shares in issue at the date of this declaration is 12.3 billion. In compliance with the requirements of Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) rules, implying that all shareholders registered in the books of Scancom PLC at the close of business on Thursday, 30 April 2020 will qualify for the final dividend.

In view of this, the ex-dividend date has been set as Tuesday, 28 April 2020. Consequently, an investor purchasing MTNGH shares before this date will be entitled to the final dividend. However, an investor buying MTNGH shares on or after Tuesday, 28 April 2020 will not be entitled to the final dividend.

On Friday, 28 August 2020 the dividend will be transferred electronically to the bank accounts or Mobile Money wallets of shareholders who make use of these facilities.

MTN Ghana share price opened the year at GH¢0.79 and closed at GH¢0.70, losing 11.4% for the year ended 31 December 2019, with a 52-week high and low of GH¢0.80 and GH¢0.67 respectively. This was largely due to selling pressures from local retail and foreign institutional investors. The selling pressures were as a result of institutional and retail investors reducing their exposure due to bearish sentiments which plagued the market throughout the year and, demands on foreign funds to meet liquidity requests from clients.

Generally, “investors have confidence in MTN albeit the potential risk to realising price gains due to the bearish sentiments in the market” stated Yamson.

 Overall, our performance generated a return on equity of 36.0% to our shareholders. This represented a YoY improvement of 4.7 percentage points.

Read also: Anglogold Ashanti sells shares to its executive director

According to Yamson, “Our priorities in 2019 remained as a key focus on our customers, putting them at the centre of our operations, ensuring robust governance of the business and maintaining high ethical standards. These are critical to achieving sustainable profitable growth and improving long-term shareholder value”.

In 2019, MTN delivered a strong profit after tax growth of 33.6% YoY to GH¢1.01 billion as at December 2019. The increased profitability performance was anchored on strong service revenue growth coupled with successful execution of its cost-efficient strategies. it grew its service revenue by 22.8% YoY, driven by excellent growth in revenues from Voice, Data and MoMo. Voice revenue was up in the double-digits and increased by 19.4% YoY to GH¢2.31 billion and contributed 44.9% of service revenue. Data revenue growth was strong at 32.5% YoY to GH¢1.46 billion and contributed 28.4% of service revenue. MoMo revenue also continued to grow strongly, increasing by 28.0% YoY to GH¢0.96 billion and contributed 18.6% of service revenue.

MTN’s operating costs went down by 3.0% on the back of various cost-efficient initiatives which impacted positively on its cost base and efficiency levels in 2019. The improvement led to a reported Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) growth of 65.7% YoY, with a YoY EBITDA margin expansion of 13.1 percentage points to 50.8%.

During the year under review, MTN Ghana received 66 awards including the prestigious Company of the Year 2018 by GIPC’s Ghana Club 100 Awards. MTN is the only Ghanaian company to win the UK-based Investor in People Accreditation – Gold Employer of the year award. For the past five years, the Ghana Revenue Authority has given the company great compliments and awards for being the largest tax payer in the Large Tax Payer Category in the country. MTN Ghana has over the past five years contributed an average of approximately 3% of the total tax revenue in Ghana. Other industry and professional awards in finance, procurement, human resources, public relations, customer service and CSR were won.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ghana Home Loans

With interest rates declining, a more liquid environment and a macroeconomic stability, mortgage financing is expected to see an ease of credit. And Ghana Home Loans being a leader in this industry is expected to lead the way. Ghana Home Loans (GHL), a leader in home mortgage, continues to be the frontier in fulfilling dreams of many Ghanaians in homeownership. Since starting business in 2006, it has also provided many existing homeowners with Equity Release mortgages to support their businesses, pay educational fees, improve their properties, or simply pursue other personal hobbies and interests. Ghana Home Loans is a mortgage finance institution which operates under Bank of Ghana’s supervision as a non-bank financial institution. At present, the Company remains the only such institution that focuses exclusively on the provision of mortgage product. Through the Home Completion mortgage and Home Construction mortgage products, Ghana Home Loans has enabled many qualified applican

Rana Motors celebrates 30 years of Kia Sportage in Ghana with the unveiling of 30 Unique Limited Models

 In a bold milestone, Rana   Motors , a leading player in the automobile industry, is marking 30 years of its flagship compact   SUV , the Kia Sportage presence on the Ghanaian market with the launch of the limited special edition of the 5th Generation model. This latest edition, proudly assembled in Ghana, reflects the brand’s commitment to combining local craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology with key upgrades including acoustic laminated glass for a quieter interior and reinforced safety features like eight airbags, including rear side airbags. Speaking during a brief ceremony to unveil the 30th Anniversary of Kia Sportage in Ghana, Chief Operating Officer of Rana Motors Kassem Odaymat, described the positioning of the company as a game-changer in the automotive landscape.   To mark three decades of outstanding success, Kia has equipped a new special edition of the 2024 Sportage with enhanced specification, focusing on convenience and safety while further elevating the model’s

Index of industrial production surges to 8.2% in 2024 2nd quarter

  The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has expressed frustration over the challenges faced in securing electricity for schools across the country. During their 62nd Annual Conference, held in Tamale from October 7 to 11, CHASS voiced concerns about the impact of prepaid electricity meters on their operations. In a statement, CHASS highlighted that the use of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) prepaid meters in schools is worsening the financial strain on headteachers. CHASS is extremely surprised as to why its members should be burdened with the responsibility of pre-financing the supply of electricity for classrooms, libraries, dormitories, dining halls, laboratories, and other academic purposes," the statement read. CHASS called for the government's immediate intervention, urging the shift from prepaid to postpaid meters to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply. They emphasized the need for continuous power to support effective academic work and to